Terra Cotta Smoker

I took the idea from Alton Brown's 'Good Eats'. Two differences. The one he built didn't appear to have a temp control. Might be a little tough to maintain temp without one. Also, for the lid, he used a dome terra cotta bowl. I couldn't find them anywhere so, I just went with another pot. I figure this way, if I decide to hang meat from the inside of the smoker for whatever reason, I will be able to.

Build List
2x 16.5" Terra Cotta pots from Walmart - $30.00
2x 9" pie plates from Walmart - $7.00
1x 1000watt hot plate from Walgreens - $15.00
Cord from a soldering iron I haven't used in 15 years.
A handful of 'tab type' wire crimps.
Electrical tape

Basically, you're just extending the element from the top of the hotplate into the bottom terra cotta pot.


Remove the element from the hot plate, exposing the wires you will be extending.



Flip one of the pie plates over and center the element on it. You will need to drill two holes that correspond with the element connectors so that the element fits level and center on the inverted pie plate. I used pieces of a wire coat hanger to help secure the element onto the pie plate.




Cut and strip both ends of your 'extension' cord. You will want to make sure the cord you are using is heavy enough to handle the load of the element or it could melt. Attach the tab type connectors to both ends of the extension cord.


Attach one end to the wires to the underside of the mounted heating element.

Feed the other end of your extension cord through the bottom of the pot and attach the leads to the wires inside of the heating element control.




Put a few wood chips in your second pie plate and test!

Have you smoked anything yet?

Tomorrow will be the first attempt. Chicken... Something cheap to help 'dial it in'. I was able to get it to 240 degrees without any problems this afternoon.

Is that your thermo sticking out of the top? Not sure how accurate it will be up there. You might want to think about getting a digital unit that has a probe.

But hey, run with what ya got and see what happens!

Yeah, I've got one. Walmart had a wireless one for $16.00... The one in the pic is one that came with the stand the pot is sitting on.

sub

I've been looking around home stores for clay pots to do this also. I have a old grill cart I thought I'd use for a base to mount the bottom pot, put handles on the top pot for easy removal, and use a heating element from an electric stove for a heat source. Wire up a temp control switch and cut a access hole in the lower side with a angle grinder and fabricate a metal door to add wood chips so you don't have to remove the top to add wood.

If I could make a suggestion, that would be take a masonary drill bit and carefully drill a hole in the side at grill level to insert your temp probe so you can get accurate temps where the meats cooking.

Anxious to see how the trial run turns out.

If you can find a 22" pot a large Weber grill grate will fit down inside.

Subscribed! Great idea!

Great job. Keep us updated.

I've been planning on making one of these myself! Wasn't gong to extend the burner. I was just going to stick the hotplate in the pot like Alton did.

I had no idea what episode was being talked about, so here is a video.



-=Jason=-

Looks good. How does the "hot plate" control temps without temp feedback? I assume the hot plate knob adjusts an on/off tstat. Or does it somehow adjust output 0-100%?

The trial run was fantastic! I toyed with it a bit early this morning to try and figure out what my 'heat range' was going to be with that hotplate. I let it run on high for a while and the temp got to 270. I had my digital probe thermometer lowered from the hole on the top, dangling just above the grill. I used the little analog thermometer and just left it in the top. After a bit of tinkering, I found that my 220 - 230 range was just below the 'medium' setting on the dial.

It took eight pieces of chicken, (4 legs, 4 thighs) about 2 1/2 hours to hit an internal temp of 165. I brined them early this morning and rubbed Jack Stack's poultry rub on them, then threw them on. It is so much easier to use than my old bullet smoker. Consequently, the grates from the bullet smoker fit absolutely perfect inside of the 16.5" pot. The only PITA with using it is that when you remove the lid to add more wood to the wood pan, you take a HUGE temperature drop. Then of course there's trying to man handle both the grate full of meat and the lid. Still, it's nice to be able to set my temp and whatever I want and leave it. Couldn't really do that with the bullet smoker...

Here's a couple of pictures of 'the pod' in action. I placed a foil pie plate over the smoker plate to keep the grease out. I had planned on smoking some peaches this afternoon as well but they weren't ripe and I had a helluva time trying to seperate the pits. I'll do it later it later in the week...

Looks great...

I built a larger version of A.B.'s TC Smoker, but went the charcoal route with it... I have dubbed it the Large Brown Ovum just so a certain colored egg brand wouldn't get too mad... LOL

Duckfoot said:

Looks great...
I have dubbed it the Large Brown Ovum just so a certain colored egg brand wouldn't get too mad... LOL

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Ya baby! Six pounds of chicken on bourbon soaked oak. Very cool build, could of saved me $800!

jiggs_casey said:

The only PITA with using it is that when you remove the lid to add more wood to the wood pan, you take a HUGE temperature drop. Then of course there's trying to man handle both the grate full of meat and the lid. Still, it's nice to be able to set my temp and whatever I want and leave it. Couldn't really do that with the bullet smoker...

Click to expand...

You could get one of those hinged grates, so u could lift one side to add more chips. then you would only have to move the meat to one side of the grate instead of lifting the gate full of meat out. Also to make life easier, you could try to drill some holes in the top pot with a masonery bit and add some handles to make picking it up a lot easier.

I attempted a 'smoked peach' desert recipe I found on the internet. Called for smoking peach halves in hickory for an hour then, covering them in honey and confectionary sugar. Umm... Yeah, this didn't work out. The hickory was WAY overpowering. In fact, I would say that hickory doesn't belong on peaches... at all...

jiggs_casey said:

I attempted a 'smoked peach' desert recipe I found on the internet. Called for smoking peach halves in hickory for an hour then, covering them in honey and confectionary sugar. Umm... Yeah, this didn't work out. The hickory was WAY overpowering. In fact, I would say that hickory doesn't belong on peaches... at all...

Click to expand...

maybe try again with some apple or cherry wood?? I find it VERY easy to over do it with Hickory, no matter the application

jiggs_casey said:

The only PITA with using it is that when you remove the lid to add more wood to the wood pan, you take a HUGE temperature drop. Then of course there's trying to man handle both the grate full of meat and the lid....

Click to expand...

What size grate are you using for your cooking surface? If it is smaller than the 18" Weber, you may have a hard time finding a hinged grate...

oldognewtrick said:

If you can find a 22" pot a large Weber grill grate will fit down inside.

Click to expand...

Finding a 22" pot is one thing... Using another 22" pot for a top and lifting it is another thing... I used a 20" heavy lip pot from Home Depot and found a 20" T.C. bowl from a local nursery to use as a top... I use an 18" Weber cooking grate... I just found a hinged version at Target of all places I will be getting soon to solve the problem of adding more lump or wood chips...

A shot of the grill grate:


Shot of the top I used:

A shot of the grill grate:


Shot of the top I used:
[/QUOTE]

What did you use around the lip? I was toying with the idea of running felt around mine.

I used a Big Green Egg replacement gasket kit... It was around $16 if I can remember...

Thanks for all the info on this. I am trying to build one as well. Where can you get the bowl? Also, maybe I need to try another Walgreen's because the first didn't have a hot plate.

just re-read the post. TC bowl from a local nursery. I guess I will be checking around.

BeerWard said:

just re-read the post. TC bowl from a local nursery. I guess I will be checking around.

Click to expand...

I also went a little big with mine... I use lump charcoal and hardwood chunks in mine... No hot plate... I have a 12" T.C. bowl inside the main body as a fire bowl...

You can find some decent sized bowls at your local Lowes / Home Depot... However, for something larger, you may have to search a bit... While in FLA, I found a T.C. pot that was about 4 foot in diameter... If I could only find a T.C. bowl to fit on that....

I woke up this morning with an idea. After toying around with it over a cup of coffee and a spare 'fry daddy' type control module, I came up with this. I bought a pork shoulder for the 2nd 'trial run'. Not counting the cost of additional tools to make this, I have spent about $90 on parts. Some of which weren't necessary. Hindsight being what it is, I could have avoided buying the hotplate altogether and just went with a replacement heating element, heat resistant wire and the 'fry daddy' controller and saved a bit. I don't know what a replacement heating element from a stove is but I'll find out. I'll post a 'total cost' of what this thing costs, the way it sits, in a couple of days.

I didn't feel like uploading and explaining every step along the way twice, so here's a link. As always, feedback is welcome!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2175736603895.287466.1561253399&l=8a376b26ff&type=1

jiggs_casey said:

I woke up this morning with an idea. After toying around with it over a cup of coffee and a spare 'fry daddy' type control module, I came up with this. I bought a pork shoulder for the 2nd 'trial run'. Not counting the cost of additional tools to make this, I have spent about $90 on parts. Some of which weren't necessary. Hindsight being what it is, I could have avoided buying the hotplate altogether and just went with a replacement heating element, heat resistant wire and the 'fry daddy' controller and saved a bit. I don't know what a replacement heating element from a stove is but I'll find out. I'll post a 'total cost' of what this thing costs, the way it sits, in a couple of days.

I didn't feel like uploading and explaining every step along the way twice, so here's a link. As always, feedback is welcome!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2175736603895.287466.1561253399&l=8a376b26ff&type=1

Click to expand...

awesome sauce mang

-=Jason=-

sweet job man. I smoked a rack of ribs, two boston butts, and a chicken saturday. I have a cheap side box smoker (~ $120)

Duckfoot said:

A shot of the grill grate:

Click to expand...

What is the shiny metal at the bottom, a "vent"? Who's replacement part did you use? What kind of saw did you use to cut the hole?

For you BGE guys or anyone else, just look around for your smoker:

BBQ Guru Controlers

That is a jin-u-wine BGE SS Draft Door... Large size I believe... I basically drilled a bunch of hole with a masonry bit and knocked it out... Ground down the edges and used SS bolts / nuts to attach with a BGE felt gasket behind it...

Jiggs, I just got the same two flowerpots from Walmart. What size cooking grate did you use?